Non-stop from France to Australia.Image: Keystone
For the first time, an Airbus has completed the route from France to Australia without interruption. Millions of people followed the historic flight live online.
July 29, 2026, 01:45July 29, 2026, 01:45
Anna-Lena Janzen / t-online
It was the longest flight to date with a commercial passenger aircraft: a specially converted Airbus A350 successfully completed a test flight from France to Australia. The plane took off from Toulouse-Blagnac and landed in Melbourne after 24 hours and 24 minutes. Millions of people followed the journey across several continents and two oceans online.
The Airbus is one of twelve “ultra long range” aircraft that are to be delivered to the Australian airline Qantas as part of the so-called “Project Sunrise”.
As early as October next year, the airline wants to offer direct flights between Sydney and London with the machines on the so-called “kangaroo route”. The approximately 20-hour route will be the longest commercial passenger connection in the world. There will also be non-stop flights to New York in the future.
The specially equipped Airbus A350-1000ULR (“Ultra Long Range”) has an additional tank. The plane can carry 20,000 liters of fuel and 238 passengers. There will be six first class suites, 52 business class reclining seats, 40 premium economy reclining seats and 140 economy class seats.
3.6 million people followed the journey
Flightradar24 said it was the second most followed flight. More than 3.6 million people watched the flight’s course. Only one flight in 2024, which transported the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, was followed more often on the website’s channels.
Airbus said the plane remained in the air for 24 hours and 24 minutes, traveling 23,075 kilometers without a stopover. The plane flew over the South Pacific, crossed the United States and Canada, then flew over the North Atlantic, past Greenland and over Great Britain before finally landing at the manufacturer’s factory in southern France.
“Four-hour shifts for each pilot”
During the flight, the engineers tested various technical innovations – including adjustments to the additional tank, the ventilation system and measures to reduce the noise in the cabin.
To prevent fatigue during the long flight, the team introduced a rotation system. Airbus test pilot Xavier Pepin explained: “We introduced four-hour shifts for each pilot, but changed the crew every two hours.” This staggered approach ensures that the pilots’ shifts overlap for two hours after they move to the cockpit.
“This enables a thorough handover and maintains full situational awareness.” In addition, on the second leg of the flight, at least one Airbus test pilot always sat in the pilot’s seat when there was a Qantas pilot in the other seat.
Last week the Airbus took off from Melbourne towards Toulouse for its first test flight. At 19 hours and 13 minutes, the route was shorter than the most recent flight. In 2005, a Boeing 777-200LR Worldliner flew a 21,601 kilometer route from Hong Kong to London in 22 hours and 42 minutes.